Aslave rebellion is an armed uprising byslaves, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of slaves have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedom and the dream of successful rebellion is often the greatest object of song, art, and culture amongst the enslaved population. These events, however, are often violently opposed and suppressed by slaveholders.
AncientSparta had a special type ofserf calledhelots who were often treated harshly, leading them to rebel.[1] According toHerodotus (IX, 28–29), helots were seven times as numerous as Spartans. Every autumn, according toPlutarch (Life of Lycurgus, 28, 3–7), the Spartanephors wouldpro forma declare war on the helot population so that any Spartan citizen could kill a helot without fear of blood or guilt in order to keep them in line (crypteia). In theRoman Empire, though the heterogeneous nature of the slave population worked against a strong sense of solidarity,slave revolts did occur and were severely punished.[2] The most famous slave rebellion inEurope was led bySpartacus inRomanItaly, theThird Servile War. This war resulted in the 6,000 surviving rebel slaves beingcrucified along the main roads leading into Rome.[3] This was the third in a series of unrelatedServile Wars fought byslaves against the Romans.
InRussia, the slaves were usually classified askholops. A kholop's master had unlimited power over his life. Slavery remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, whenPeter the Great converted the household slaves into houseserfs. Russian agricultural slaves were formally converted into serfs earlier in 1679.[4] During the 16th and 17th centuries, runaway serfs and kholops known asCossacks, ("outlaws") formed autonomous communities in the southern steppes. There were numerous rebellions against slavery andserfdom, most often in conjunction with Cossack uprisings, such as the uprisings ofIvan Bolotnikov (1606–1607),Stenka Razin (1667–1671),[5]Kondraty Bulavin (1707–1709), andYemelyan Pugachev (1773–1775), often involving hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions.[6] Between the end of thePugachev rebellion and the beginning of the 19th century, there were hundreds of outbreaks across Russia.[7]
One of the most successful slave rebellions in history was theHaitian Revolution, which saw self-emancipated slaves in theFrench colony ofSaint-Domingue overthrow the colonial government and repulse invasion attempts by the French, Spanish and British to establish the independent state ofHaiti. In the 9th century, the poet Ali bin Muhammad led imported East African slaves against theAbbasid Caliphate in Iraq during theZanj Rebellion.Nanny of the Maroons was an 18th-century leader of theJamaican Maroons who led them to victory in theFirst Maroon War. TheQuilombo dos Palmares of Brazil flourished underGanga Zumba. In theUnited States, the1811 German Coast Uprising in theTerritory of Orleans was the largest rebellion in the continental United States;Denmark Vesey andMadison Washington both launched slave rebellions in the U.S. as well.
In 1808 and 1825, there were slave rebellions in theCape Colony, newly acquired by the British. Although the slave trade was officially abolished in theBritish Empire by theSlave Trade Act 1807, and slavery itself a generation later with theSlavery Abolition Act 1833, it took until 1850 to be halted in the territories which were to becomeSouth Africa.[8]
On 9 July 1595,Rei Amador, and his people, the Angolars, allied with other enslaved Africans of its plantations, marched into the interior woods and battled against the Portuguese. It is said that day, Rei Amador and his followers raised a flag in front of the settlers and proclaimed Rei Amador as king ofSão Tomé and Príncipe, making himself as "Rei Amador, liberator of all the black people".
Between 1595 and 1596, part of the island of São Tomé was ruled by the Angolars, under the command of Rei Amador. On 4 January 1596, he was captured, sent to prison and was later executed by the Portuguese. Still today, they remember him fondly and consider him a national hero of the islands.
In the first decades of the 17th century, there were frequent slave revolts in the Portuguese colony ofSão Tomé and Príncipe, off the African shore, which damaged the sugar crop cultivation there.
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TheZanj Rebellion against theslavery in the Abbasid Caliphate was the culmination of a series of small revolts. It took place near the city ofBasra, in southern Iraq over fifteen years (869−883 AD). It grew to involve over 500,100 slaves, who were imported from across the Muslim empire.[citation needed]
When the Russian generalKonstantin Petrovich von Kaufmann and his army approached the city of Khiva during theKhivan campaign of 1873, the KhanMuhammad Rahim Khan II of Khiva fled to hide among the Yomuts, and the slaves in Khiva rebelled, informed about the imminent downfall of the city, resulting in theKhivan slave uprising.[9] When Kaufmann's Russian army entered Khiva on 28 March, he was approached by Khivans who begged him to put down the ongoing slave uprising, during which slaves avenged themselves on their former enslavers.[10] When the Khan returned to his capital after the Russian conquest, the Russian General Kaufmann presented him with a demand to abolish theKhivan slave trade and slavery, which he did.[11]
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In the 3rd century BCE, Drimakos (or Drimachus) led a slave revolt on the slave entrepot ofChios, took to the hills and directed a band of runaways in operations against their ex-masters.[12][13]
TheServile Wars (135 to 71 BCE) were a series of slave revolts within theRoman Republic.[14]
According to theIcelandic sagas,Swedish slave revolts occurred at some time between the 5th and 6th centuries, and resulted in the Swedish kingOngentheow being deposed. These large-scale slave revolts were reportedly led by athrall known as Tunni. According to the sagas, it resulted in the Swedish kingOngentheow being deposed. Tunni subsequently became king ofSvealand after defeating the Swedish king.[16]
A number of slave revolts occurred in the Mediterranean area during the early modern period:
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Numerous slave rebellions and insurrections took place inNorth America during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. There is documentary evidence of more than 250 uprisings or attempted uprisings involving ten or more slaves. One of the first was atSan Miguel de Gualdape, the first European settlement in what would become theUnited States. Three of the best known in the United States during the 19th century are the revolts byGabriel Prosser inVirginia in 1800,Denmark Vesey inCharleston, South Carolina in 1822, andNat Turner's Rebellion inSouthampton County, Virginia, in 1831.[citation needed]
Drapetomania was a supposed mental illness invented by American physicianSamuel A. Cartwright in 1851 that allegedly caused black slaves to run away. Today, drapetomania is considered an example ofpseudoscience, and part of the edifice ofscientific racism.[citation needed]
Slave resistance in theantebellumSouth did not gain the attention of academic historians until the 1940s, when historianHerbert Aptheker started publishing the first serious scholarly work[19] on the subject. Aptheker stressed how rebellions were rooted in the exploitative conditions of the Southern slave system. He traversed libraries and archives throughout the South, managing to uncover roughly 250 similar instances.[citation needed]
The1811 German Coast Uprising, which took place in rural southeastLouisiana, at that time theTerritory of Orleans, early in 1811, involved up to 500insurgentslaves. It was suppressed by local militias and a detachment of theUnited States Army. In retaliation for the deaths of two white men and the destruction of property, the authorities killed at least 40 black men in a violent confrontation (the numbers cited are inconsistent); at least 29 more were executed (combined figures from two jurisdictions,St. Charles Parish andOrleans Parish). There was a third jurisdiction for a tribunal and what amounted tosummary judgments against the accused,St. John the Baptist Parish. Fewer than 20 men are said to have escaped; some of those were later caught and killed, on their way to freedom.[citation needed]
Although only involving about seventy slaves and free blacks,Turner's 1831 rebellion is considered to be a significant event in American history. The rebellion caused the slave-holding South to go into a panic. Fifty-five men, women, and children were killed, and enslaved blacks were freed on multiple plantations inSouthampton County, Virginia, as Turner and his fellow rebels attacked the white institution of plantation slavery. Turner and the other rebels were eventually stopped by state militias.[20] The rebellion resulted in the hanging of about 56 slaves, includingNat Turner himself. Up to 200 other blacks were killed during thehysteria that followed, few of whom likely had anything to do with the uprising.[21] White fear led to new legislation passed by Southern states prohibiting the movement, assembly, and education of slaves, and reducing the rights offree people of color. In 1831–32, the Virginia legislature considered a gradual emancipation law to prevent future rebellions. In a close vote, however, the state decided to keep slaves.[22]
TheabolitionistJohn Brown had already fought against pro-slavery forces inBleeding Kansas for several years when he decidedto lead a raid on a Federalarsenal inHarpers Ferry, Virginia. This raid was a joint attack by freed blacks and white men who had corresponded with slaves on plantations in order to create a general uprising among slaves. Brown carried hundreds of copies of the constitution for a new republic of former slaves in the Appalachians. But they were never distributed, and the slave uprisings that were to have helped Brown did not happen. Some believe that he knew the raid was doomed but went ahead anyway, because of the support for abolition it would (and did) generate. The U.S. military, led by Lieutenant ColonelRobert E. Lee, easily overwhelmed Brown's forces. But directly following this, slave disobedience and the number of runaways increased markedly in Virginia.[23]
The historianSteven Hahn proposes that the self-organized involvement of slaves in theUnion Army during theAmerican Civil War composed a slave rebellion that dwarfed all others.[24] Similarly, tens of thousands of slaves joined British forces or escaped to British lines during theAmerican Revolution, sometimes using the disruption of war to gain freedom. For instance, when the British evacuated from Charleston and Savannah, they took 10,000 freed slaves with them. They also evacuated slaves from New York, taking more than 3,000 for resettlement to Nova Scotia, where they were recorded asBlack Loyalists and given land grants.[25]
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| North American slave revolts |
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Before 1700 (Spanish Florida, victorious)
(Real Audiencia of Panama,New Spain, suppressed)
(Veracruz,New Spain, victorious)
(New Spain, suppressed)
(New Spain, suppressed)
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18th century (BritishProvince of New York, suppressed)
(BritishJamaica, victorious) (BritishChesapeake Colonies, suppressed)
(Louisiana,New France, suppressed) (DanishSaint John, suppressed)
(BritishProvince of South Carolina, suppressed) (BritishProvince of New York, suppressed)
(BritishJamaica, suppressed) (BritishMontserrat, suppressed) (BritishBahamas, suppressed)
(Louisiana,New Spain, suppressed) (Louisiana,New Spain, suppressed) (DutchCuraçao, suppressed)
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19th century (Virginia, suppressed)
(St. Simons Island,Georgia, victorious)
(Virginia, suppressed) (Territory of Orleans, suppressed) (SpanishCuba, suppressed)
(Virginia, suppressed) (BritishBarbados, suppressed)
(South Carolina, suppressed) (Cuba, suppressed) (Virginia, suppressed)
(British Jamaica, suppressed)
(off theCuban coast, victorious)
(off theSouthern U.S. coast, victorious) (Indian Territory, suppressed)
(SpanishCuba, suppressed) (South Carolina, suppressed) (Virginia, suppressed) |
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There are 485 recorded instances of slaves revolting on board slave ships.[33] A few of these ships endured more than one uprising during their career.[33]
Most accounts of revolts aboard slave ships are given by Europeans. There are few examples of accounts by slaves themselves.William Snelgrave reported that the slaves who revolted on the British shipHenry in 1721 claimed that those who had captured them were "Rogues to buy them" and that they were bent on regaining their liberty.[34] Another example that Richardson gives is that of James Towne who gives the account of slaves stating that Europeans did not have the right to enslave and take them away from their homeland and "wives and children".[35]
Richardson compares several factors that contributed to slave revolts on board ships: conditions on the ships, geographical location, and proximity to the shore.[34] He suggests that revolts were more likely to occur when a ship was still in sight of the shore. The threat of attack from the shore by other Africans was also a concern. If the ship was hit by disease and a large portion of the crew had been killed, the chances of insurrection were higher.[34] Where the slaves were captured also had an effect on the number of insurrections.[34] In many places, such as theBight of Benin and theBight of Biafra, the percentage of revolts and the percentage of the slave trade match up.[34] Yet ships taking slaves fromSenegambia experienced 22 percent of shipboard revolts while only contributing to four and a half percent of the slave trade.[35] Slaves coming from West Central Africa accounted for 44 percent of the trade while only experiencing 11 percent of total revolts.[35]
Lorenzo J. Greene gives many accounts of slave revolts on ships coming out of New England. These ships belonged to Puritans who controlled much of the slave trade in New England.[36] Most revolts on board ships were unsuccessful. The crews of these ships, while outnumbered, were disciplined, well fed, and armed with muskets, swords, and sometimes cannons, and they were always on guard for resistance.[37] The slaves on the other hand were the opposite, armed only with bits of wood and the chains that bound them.[38]
However, some captives were able to take over the ships that were their prisons and regain their freedom. On October 5, 1764 the New Hampshire shipAdventure captained by John Millar was successfully taken by the enslaved aboard.[37] The slaves on board revolted while the ship was anchored off the coast and all but two of the crew, including Captain Millar, had succumbed to disease.[39] Another successful slave revolt occurred six days after the shipLittle George had left the Guinea coast. The ship carried ninety-six slaves, thirty-five of which were male.[37] The slaves attacked in the early hours of the morning, easily overpowering the two men on guard. The slaves were able to load one of the cannons on board and fire it at the crew. After taking control of the ship they sailed it up theSierra Leone River and escaped.[37] After having defended themselves with muskets for several days below decks the crew lowered a small boat into the river to escape. After nine days of living on raw rice they were rescued.[40]
Mariana P. Candido notes that enslaved Africans worked on the ships that transported other Africans into slavery. These men, 230 in all,[41] were used onboard slave ships for their ability to communicate with the slaves being brought on board and to translate between Captain and slaver.[42] Enslaved sailors were able to alleviate some of the fears that newly boarded slaves had, such as fear of being eaten.[43] This was a double-edged sword. The enslaved sailors sometimes joined other slaves in the revolts against the captain they served. In 1812 enslaved sailors joined a revolt on board the Portuguese shipFeliz Eugenia just off the coast ofBenguela.[41] The revolt took place below decks. The sailors, along with many of the children who were on board, were able to escape using small boats.[44]
December 25, 1521 rebellion inDiego Colón de Toledo's plantation in what is known today asDominican Republic is the first known slave rebellion of the region.[45] Despite the suppression of this revolt, many of the slaves successfully escaped, which led to the establishment of the firstMaroon communities of the Americas. It would also open the doors for more slave revolts to transpire in the region. In 1532,Sebastián Lemba, of theLemba tribe, rebelled against the Spanish colonists and for the next 15 years, attacked various other villages on the island liberating other slaves and ransacking from the Spaniards. Other leaders such as Juan Vaquero, Diego del Guzmán, Fernando Montoro, Juan Criollo, andDiego del Ocampo followed in Lemba's footsteps.Dominican slave revolts continued throughout the 18th and 19th century such as the slave insurrections of Hincha and Samaná in the spring of 1795, theBoca de Nigua revolt in 1796, the Gambia revolt of 1802, and the revolt led by José Leocadio, Pedro de Seda, and Pedro Henríquez in 1812.[46]
In 1552Miguel de Buría[47] a former slave inSan Juan, Puerto Rico,[48] reigned as the King of Buría Golden mines in the modern-day state ofLara,Venezuela, after leading the first African rebellion in the country's history.[49] His incumbency began in 1552 and lasted until 1554 after a failed attempt to take Barquisimeto city was killed by Spanish forces.[citation needed]
Between 1538 and 1542, aGuaraní slave from present-dayParaguay namedJuliana killed her Spanish master and urged other indigenous women to do the same, ending up executed by order ofÁlvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.[50][51] Her rebellion is regarded as one of the earliest recorded indigenous uprisings against theSpanish colonization of the Americas.[52][53]
Quilombo dos Palmares inBrazil, 1605 to 1694, led byZumbi dos Palmarés.[citation needed]
San Basilio de Palenque inColombia, 16th century to the present, led byBenkos Biohó.[citation needed]
St. John, 1733, in what was then theDanish West Indies.The St. John's Slave Rebellion is one of the earliest and longest lasting slave rebellions in the Americas. It ended with defeat, however, and many rebels, including one of the leadersBreffu, committed suicide rather than being recaptured.[54]
The most successful slave uprising was theHaitian Revolution, which began in 1791 and was eventually led byToussaint L'Ouverture, culminating in the independent black republic ofHaiti.[55]
Panama also has an extensive history of slave rebellions going back to the 16th century. Slaves were brought to theisthmus from many regions inAfrica, including the modern day countries of theCongo,Senegal,Guinea, andMozambique. Immediately before their arrival on shore, or very soon after, many enslaved Africans revolted against their captors or participated in massmaroonage or desertion. The freed Africans founded communities in the forests and mountains, organizedguerrilla bands known asCimarrones. They began a long guerrilla war against theSpanishConquistadores, sometimes in conjunction with nearby indigenous communities like theGuna and theGuaymí. Despite massacres by the Spanish, the rebels fought until the Spanish crown was forced to concede to treaties that granted the Africans a life without Spanish violence and incursions. The leaders of the guerrilla revolts includedFelipillo,Bayano,Juan de Dioso,Domingo Congo, Antón Mandinga, andLuis de Mozambique.[citation needed]
TheSuriname slave rebellion was marked by constantguerrilla warfare byMaroons and in 1765–1793 by theAluku. This rebellion was led byBoni.[citation needed]
TheBerbice Slave Rebellion inGuyana in 1763 was led byCuffy.[56]
In the 1730s, the militias of theColony of Jamaica fought theJamaican Maroons for a decade, before agreeing to sign peace treaties in 1739 and 1740, which recognised their freedom in five separate Maroon Towns.[57]
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Tacky's War (1760) was a slave uprising inJamaica, which ran from May to July before it was put down by the British colonial government.[58]
Vincent Brown, a professor of History and of African and African-American Studies at Harvard, has made a study of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. In 2013, Brown teamed up with Axis Maps to create an interactive map of Jamaican slave uprisings in the 18th century called, "Slave Revolt in Jamaica, 1760–1761, A Cartographic Narrative".[59] Brown's efforts have shown that the slave insurrection in Jamaica in 1760-61 was a carefully planned affair and not a spontaneous, chaotic eruption, as was often argued (due in large part to the lack of written records produced by the insurgents).[60]Tacky's War was a widespread slave uprising across Jamaica in the 1760s.
Later, in 1795, several slave rebellions broke out across the Caribbean, some of which may have been influenced by theHaitian Revolution:[61]
Cuba had slave revolts in 1795, 1798, 1802, 1805, 1812 (theAponte revolt), 1825, 1827, 1829, 1833, 1834, 1835, 1838, 1839–43 and 1844 (the La Escalera conspiracy and revolt).[citation needed]
Many slave rebellions occurred inBrazil, most famously theMalê Revolt of 1835[66] by the predominantly MuslimWest African slaves at the time. The termmalê was commonly used to refer to Muslims at the time from theYoruba wordimale.[citation needed]
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